Meaning: Rain was coming down heavily and quickly, and thunder was making a loud noise.
Choice of Words: Rain fell fast - rain came down quickly, thunder boomed - thunder made a loud noise
Alternative Expressions
The rain was falling quickly, and the thunder was roaring.
Meaning: This means the same as the first sentence, but it uses different words to describe the same thing.
Choice of Words:The is used to specify a particular thing. Rain is the water that falls from the clouds. Was falling is the past continuous tense of the verb fall, which means to drop down or move downwards. Quickly means moving fast. And is used to join two words or phrases. The is used again to specify a particular thing. Thunder is the loud noise that happens during a storm. Was roaring is the past continuous tense of the verb roar, which means to make a loud, deep sound. When you put them together, "The rain was falling quickly, and the thunder was roaring" describes a storm with heavy rain and loud thunder.
It was raining cats and dogs, and the thunder was deafening.
Meaning: This means the same as the first two sentences, but it uses different words to describe the same thing.
Choice of Words:It is used to refer to something that has already been mentioned or is obvious from the context. Was raining is the past continuous tense of the verb rain, which means to fall as water from the clouds. Cats and dogs is an idiom that means raining very heavily. And is used to join two words or phrases. The is used to specify a particular thing. Thunder is the loud noise that happens during a storm. Was deafening is the past continuous tense of the verb deafen, which means to make someone unable to hear. When you put them together, "It was raining cats and dogs, and the thunder was deafening" describes a storm with very heavy rain and very loud thunder.